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Darrhon

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Darrhon or Darron (Ancient Greek: Δάῤῥων) was a Paeonian[1] god of healing, whose cult was adopted by the ancient Macedonians, as mentioned by Hesychius, as a Macedonian minor god. He is attested hapax in one inscription from Pella, c. 200–150 BC:[2]

Ἀμφίπολις Δάρρωνι εὐξαμένη ἐπηκόωι.
Amphípolis Dárrhōni euxaménē epēkóōi
Amphipolis[3] who prayed to benevolent Darrhon.

Excavations have revealed a sanctuary of Darrhon in the site of ancient Pella.[4] It has been argued that while Darrhon was initially a minor deity, he was later identified and worshiped as Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine.[5]

Etymology

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It has been suggested that "Darrhon" is a Macedonian-styled name of Greek participle θαρρῶν tharrhon,[6] meaning "giving courage, making bold". Θάρρων, Tharrhon, is an Eretrian eponym.[7] Alternatively, his name might be derived from the Thracian tribe of Derrones in the north part of the Strymon valley, compare Apollo Derenus in Abdera.[8]

See also

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Notes

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  1. King, Carol J., ed. (2017). Ancient Macedonia. Routledge. p. 14.
  2. Epigraphical Database
  3. Woman's name.
  4. Stamatopoulou and Yeroulanou, p. 88
  5. Macedonian Issues: Darron
  6. http://www.heinrich-tischner.de Δ Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Eretria — early 3rd century BC Line 8
  8. Pindar's Paeans: A Reading of the Fragments with a Survey of the Genre by Ian Rutherford